BREATH OF FIRE: WILDFLOWER
by BashiQu
Summary: I guess I start with a twirl and some magic. Then I say: Follow the journey of the Wyndian Princess and her 'pet' Dragon in the search for the one named Wildflower! or somewhat... :3 Enjoy
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

_Don't hurt them._

Mommy?

_Don't hurt them...

* * *

_

The blonde blinked a few times and stretched her arms while she yawned. Grabbing the blanket close to her body she curled once more and sighed happily.

"NINA!!!" She tensed then growled; covering her ears. "Nina! WAKE UP!!" She grunted when her older sister, Anna, shook her body. "Father wouldn't like it if you missed your morning training!"

"Buu--ba." Nina muttered.

Anna stilled in confusion and Nina smiled before her sister realized that it was just her trying to stop her from shaking her. "Oh!" Anna was frustrated, "You always do this! If father sees you still in bed when training starts I don't think I'll help you again!" Anna stormed off.

Nina opened her bright blue eyes and sighed. She stared at the wall that was a distance away. She may have royal blood in her but that didn't stop her father from treating her like a common soldier. She slowly sat up and flapped her wings to straighten her white feathers, which weren't cooperating.

She scratched her head and moaned. This was going to be the longest day of her life... And it won't be her last.

* * *

Nina commanded another spell and froze a small monster in place. She really didn't like freezing little helpless monsters or burning them...blowing them away was a no-no either. She looked up to the man who was standing behind a protection screen. He gave her a curt nod and she gave him a worried smile. He left.

She sighed and slowly conjured a gentle flame on her fingertips. She walked over to the little monster and started melting the ice away. Once the monster's limbs were free, Nina moved away and left the small enclosed training ground.

Anna was sitting on her bed by the time she reached her room and Nina sighed, "What is it?" Anna just shook her head telling her that she was there out of boredom. Nina let out a second sigh and walked to her bathroom. She was taking a quick shower when an alarm went off. Without thinking, Nina rushed out of the shower and put her clothes on. Anna was trying to stop her but she was too fast.

When Nina arrived at the scene, most of the soldiers had circled around the intruder. Nina pushed the soldiers away and she saw a dragon baring its fangs at the long spears that were pointed at it. Nina raised her hand and everyone moved back a few steps but the spears were still directed at the little monster.

The dragon turned its attention to Nina and closed its jaws. Its eyes were curiously staring at the woman who had knelt down with a smile on her face. She pulled out her hand and beckoned it to come close. The dragon stayed put.

"What are you doing?" Nina jumped and turned to look at her father who was a distance opposite of her. His face was taut and undeniably expressing his disappointment. "That monster is a dragon! Dispose of it!"

Nina pulled her hand back and stood up slowly, "It's still a Kid." She looked at her father, "Dragons are rare. This one could be a blessing. We could train it to be on our side."

Her father stared at her; his features did not lose its harshness. There was a short silence that seemed to pierce the air with increased tension until her father turned and left. Nina waited until he disappeared before she knelt down again and once more beckoned the baby dragon to her.

The little monster tilted its head to one side. It took a small step. It tilted its head to the other side and hopped another step. Nina squinted her eyes as she smiled and let out a soft whisper, 'come on.' The little black dragon took baby steps to her hand and it sniffed her fingers. The spears were more focused on the monster now than before but it ignored the glinting blades. The little dragon slid its tongue out and licked Nina's fingers once then licked some more before it nudged her hand on its head, asking her to stroke it.

"Well now..." The spears were lowered when she nodded her head to the soldiers who continued to stare at her with wide eyes and weird stares. She ignored them and looked back at the new found pet, "What should I do?"

"First," She turned her head enough to see her sister with a coat in her hands, "You should wear something decent."

Nina looked down and a heavy weight suddenly burdened her when she realized a white translucent robe was not a good combination with a wet body.

* * *

The Kid continued to lap its tongue into the bowl of milk that Anna had prepared especially for it. Nina was brushing her short hair while looking through the only book that she could get her servants to search for on dragons.

"It also says here it's good to add the milk with honey if its not dragon's nectar." Nina put the brush down and picked the book up as she walked over to them. Anna looked at her and waited for more instructions after adding an overflowing spoonful of honey. "It doesn't eat anything until it's a week old." Nina looked at the little dragon that continued to lick the milk. She blushed, "It's so cute."

Anna waved her hand in front of her sister's face, "Focus. Father's angry because you wouldn't kill the dragon and now that you've taken it in as a pet he's already making plans of training it for battle." She shook her head, "He also said about getting our scientists to extract a little of its DNA hoping to genetically modify the genes into clones."

Nina looked at her with a questioning look on her face, "And you know this how?"

Anna realized she said too much and she turned her attention to the dragon, "What's its name? Is it a girl or a boy?"

Nina knew that this was a tactic that Anna used to change the topic. Usually she'd just ignore this strategy and push her into telling what she knew but not at the moment because she had just realized she didn't know if it was male or female. She flipped through the contents and pages but found nothing on how to find out whether it was a girl or a boy.

"I don't know." Nina finally gave up after flipping through over five hundred pages. She stared at the Kid that had curled up next to one of her hands that had been on the table ever since it finished its meal, "But I still have to give it a name, huh?" Anna nodded.

Nina used her free hand to stroke its head and its ears twitched but it slept like nothing had touched it. "I think it looks like a boy."

Anna smacked a fist into her palm, "A long time ago there was a dragon here in Wyndia too. Mind you, this is ancient history and when I say ancient I meant really, really ancient." She continued after she got Nina's full attention, "There was a Wyndian princess who journeyed with a dragon and fought against the Goddess. There was also another story that said she went with him to battle against the world. And another one story was that the dragon came to rescue the Wyndian princess from a metal cage of heavy air where there was no sky! He saved her with his life!"

"What has this got to do with anything?" Nina interrupted when she knew her sister would continue to ramble.

Anna sniffed her nose as she rubbed it with her knuckles in an unwomanly fashion; she smiled, "It was the Legendary Kaiser dragon that was, written in all the ancient histories I've read, called Ryu."

"Ri... Ryu." Nina spoke softly and the little dragon let out a soft whimper. She smiled and lowered her head to whisper into its ear softly, "Your name is Ryu."

* * *

**Author's Blurb:**

Hi! Hi! Oh you pretty readers who happened to click upon this story May you be a BoF fan or not, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of _-drum roll-_ **BREATH OF FIRE: WILDFLOWER**!!!! _-sparkles-_

Second chapter will be up next week so if you're interested just put an alert on the story--!

This is Bashi signing off hoping to write more for your entertainment and pleasure--!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The soft sound of claws tapping on the cold marble floor echoed in the huge, unfurnished corridor. The only décors were paintings of past Wyndian royalties and the chandeliers. The black Kid cautiously walked aimlessly into random rooms and finally stopped in front of a door. Unlike the other portals, which were barricaded by metal doors this one was wooden. Its lock was simple and easily breakable.

Ryu nudged his little snout on the door and the lock screamed open before allowing the door to swing heavily. The light from the corridor reached a certain point into the room but the little dragon didn't need light to see. His other senses were good enough to pinpoint the objects and the space of the room.

Slowly, he took his time walking towards a small beaten up chest. With a whip of his small tail, it rattled open. Anyone who was looking wouldn't be able to see what was inside but to Ryu the light was intense.

_Take me._

Without hesitating the Kid jumped into the chest and was engulfed in the hot glow before his body was radiating its light. Then, it was gone. Ryu climbed out of the chest and the lid shut loudly. He trotted out of the room, closed the door behind him by piercing his little claws into the door and pulling it towards him. Like a lizard, he climbed the door frame and bit into the lock, clasping the mechanism together.

With that, he retraced his steps back to Nina's room and took a quick glanced at the sleeping, breathing figure on the bed. Ryu walked to his bed that was a small wooden basket filled with soft cotton and woolen towels. He hopped then curled into a comfortable ball to sleep before letting out a small happy sigh.

* * *

Anna got into the room expecting her little sister to be still in bed but found it nicely made and empty. Her gaze slid over to the basket and a frown identical to that of her father's was on her face. Her sister had decided to skip training. 

Nina, who was up hours before Anna gave her the unannounced visit, was by the lake in the kingdom's forest with little Ryu. She was staring at the little Kid as it chased everything that was moving from butterflies to the dead leaves that were stirred by his claws.

The princess was pondering at the small black wings that have magically sprouted from its back. She was sure there weren't any wings yesterday. She caught the little dragon in her hands when it passed by her ankles. She looked at it.

"You've got beautiful blue eyes... like me." She smiled.

The dragon made a sound that was a cross of a chick's chirp and a mouse's squeak. "Niya."

Your scales aren't really black..." She turned it around so that she could look at the scales more clearly. "A mix of dark purple and greens and... you have tiny horns. Why is it red?" She asked the unfazed dragon that was staring at a frog hopping into the water. "And look at this tail! It may be small but by the way you're wagging it, it must have quite the strength!"

Ryu jumped out of her hands, which startled her. The Kid dashed towards a frog that had just broke through the surface of the water and was now trying its best to lose the scaly menace that was chasing it. Nina scratched the back of her head. It was going to be hard to explain to her father about those wings. If she knew him well enough she would know that he would have taken a quick analytical look at its body, measured it and assumed its power.

When the sun quietly shone through whatever sky the trees and leaves did not cover Nina got off where she was sitting and picked the Kid into her arms. "Let's go back. Father would lecture me the rest of the day if we don't." Ryu stayed silent and stared at her as if trying to understand her face. She smiled and placed a little kiss on his head. They went back to the castle.

* * *

Nina did receive an earful from her father but it didn't last the rest of the day. He was too busy to burn her with his words and was more interested at the wings that were on Ryu. "Give him here." He said to her. She walked up to him and placed the dragon on the table. He tugged at the small wings and the Kid yelped. Nina wanted him to stop pulling but she'd rather him pull its wings than cut it off. 

"Did he get this last night?" He asked his daughter. His gray eyes were narrowed making them look sharper than they were as he examined the pair of wings. His dark black hair was slicked back today, revealing his high forehead that had identical, vertical scars above his thick dark eyebrows. His pale skin was unusually colored that afternoon with a warm red in his high cheeks, long neck and well manicured fingers.

"Yes." Nina answered. She looked at her father. Unlike her sister, she looked nothing like her father. Not even his characteristics or his ability to plan a battle with a desirable outcome. Everybody in the kingdom who was as old as her father or even older said that she looked like her father's mistress who had died the day the queen was murdered. Nina shook her head and reminded herself that it was just a coincidence. Just because her family all had dark hair and gray eyes it did not mean that her ancestors weren't fair headed like she was.

"Give him to Mater." His voice snapped Nina back into reality. "Let him run some tests." Nina picked Ryu up who jumped into her arms to get away from the man who had been pulling his wings. The Kid bared its small fangs at the King and suddenly stopped when it saw a genuine smile that soften the man's harsh face, making him look more than ten years younger than before.

Nina nodded and turned. Ryu climbed clumsily on her shoulder and looked back at the man who still had that gentle smile on his face. As Nina closed the door, Ryu stretched his neck as far as he could to look through the crack of the door at him. His hand moved to a picture frame and the door closed shut.

* * *

"And his name is Ryu?" Mater, the young scientist who was the great-great-great-and-many-more-greats-grandson of the legendary Momo, asked Nina. He moved his pink hair away from his face and hooked the bangs behind his ear before pushing the small round spectacles closer to his light red eyes. "Just like the Kaiser in the myth." 

"Oh, you know the story too?" Nina played with a small spanner and spun it around on the table dangerously close to the acid bottles.

"If Anna told you about it I'm the one who taught her." He said. At the young age of fourteen, Mater became the King's head Scientist. Now twenty, he was well known for monster analysis and medicinal remedies as well as poisons. In the battlefield, his feminine frame was a joke but his accurate skills in throwing objects and using his bottled liquid bombs were not to be laughed at.

Nina looked at him with admiration. Although he was three years older than she was she had always teased him as a little sibling because of his inch-shorter-height compared to hers. After a while, they were like big sister and little brother. "Good for you. Now... when can you finish giving him his medical check-up? I want to feed him."

"Don't worry." He smiled at her making him look more like a girl, "I'll feed him and as soon as I'm done, I'll give him back." Nina sighed knowing that it would take him a whole twenty-four hours before she could have Ryu back and knowing Mater, he'd like to be alone. He nodded when Nina waved him good-bye and kissed Ryu on his forehead.

Mater picked up the Kid when Nina exited the room and smiled, "So, Ryu, let's take some of that blood, shall we?" Ryu whimpered and Mater furrowed his pink eyebrows in concern, "Don't worry, it won't hurt."

He sat down and put the dragon on his lap. Just as he stuck the needle into Ryu's thick, scaly thigh a light burst from the dragon and Mater felt a heavy weight on his lap. He felt something wrap around on his shoulder and behind his neck and when the glow dissipated, Mater's eyes widened.

The blue eyes that stared into his red ones were human. The face was finely chiseled and his nose was long and elegant. He had sharp angled eyebrows and messy dark blue hair that covered his naked lean body.

The man that sat on Mater's lap closed his eyes and laid his head on his shoulder. He snored softly. Mater still had his hand on the needle. His eyes slowly traveled down his own arm towards the syringe that was stuck to the other man's thigh.

Mater's spectacles were dangerously low on the tip of his nose and he whispered, "Ryu?"

The half-asleep man snuggled his face into Mater's neck and he said, "Niya..."

* * *

**Author's Blurb:**

_Nessmk: _ You... **ROCK**! Thanks for being so patient and still having me in your alert list. TwT (tears of joy) This is what drives an artist/author into loving his work--!! Thank you!

_Keyt: _Thanks for that comment! Comments like those really boost my ego and my determination to do more!

I wanted to keep each chapter to a limit of three pages because I think it's easier to read and so have added detials in this chapter. The 1st chap was just introduction... hehe! Thank you so much for the comments!

Third chapter will be up next week so if you're interested just put an alert on the story--!!

This is Bashi signing off hoping to write more for your entertainment and pleasure!

PS: I've posted up a NINA fanart (by me of course-- Hahha!!) in my DeviantART page. If you're curious go ahead and check it out! I be spreading Bashi love--!! tee-hee--!!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Nina stared at the sleeping figure that was curled up on one of the laboratory experiment tables. Mater had given him his lab coat to wear and was now seated behind his computer; typing down words and symbols that Nina knew she would never understand.

"And this is Ryu?" She asked Mater still not believing it. Mater just nodded as he pulled a piece of paper out of the printer and examined it before slipping it into a folder. "How?"

"Don't ask me, Your Highness." Nina tensed at his reply. She knew he was a little annoyed with her because it was the umpteenth time she asked him. He turned and stood up to look at Ryu from her side. "But from the research I did last night he may be a Brood." Nina gave him a confused look. She knew what Broods were. Every Wyndian child was taught that Broods were humans gifted with the power of Dragons... or was it the other way around?

Mater sighed knowing what Nina was thinking. "No. You're wrong. They're just Dragons with an extra ability to shape-shift into human beings." Ryu stirred and they both stopped talking. He blinked his eyes and yawned as he stretched. The blue haired man sat up and tilted his head to one side when he saw Nina and smiled.

Nina blushed. She knew he was a Kid in his Dragon form and that meant he was no older than a year. But sitting right in front of her was a man, naked under the lab coat and smiling at her. She shook her head and smiled back as she gave him a concerned look. "Mater," she whispered, "How old is he?"

"Why don't you ask him?" Mater nudged her forward. She stumbled but righted herself up before she humiliated herself. "And when you're at it, ask him for his real name." Nina steamed. Mater was only doing this because he knew she had some stuttering issues when it came to talking to men face to face.

"Highness." Nina and Mater looked at Ryu. The voice that slipped out of his lips was unbelievably smooth and rich in an accent they couldn't put their finger to. "Your Highness." He said.

"You speak..." Nina stared at him wide-eyed. His smiled grew wider and it made Nina's heart flutter a little. She shook her head violently and puffed her cheeks, "Well, since you can speak, what is your name?"

Ryu looked at her with half-narrowed eyes, as if he was still sleepy, "Ryu." He said, "You named me Ryu."

"No, what's your real name? The name before I gave you a name." Nina said to him. Mater picked up a clipboard and started writing down some observations. "You do have a name, right?"

Ryu closed his eyes and after a moment's silence he nodded, "I have a name. My name is Ryu. You gave me that name." Nina felt like giving up. She scratched her blonde head and turned to look at Mater with hands on her hips. There were questions she wanted to ask him but she knew from the look on his face that he wouldn't know the answers. She turned back to Ryu.

Nina looked into his eyes, at his face and then at his whole body. He looked like as if he was older than Mater and she. "How old are you, Ryu?"

Ryu smiled, "Eighty-nine."

Nina and Mater stared at him, "WHAT?!"

* * *

Nina was pacing in front of her father's library while Mater tried to stop her by asking her to sit down with him as he researched more on Ryu. 

"I can't believe he wouldn't allow me to be in the room with them." She flailed her arms in frustration, "I'm the one who took Ryu in!"

Mater closed his eyes and rubbed them with his fingertips after pulling off his spectacles, "Maybe he just needed to see him alone. That's all."

Anna walked down the stairs with an air of elegance, as usual, and walked up to her sister. "What's happening?"

Nina jumped and gave her a scowl, "I told you not to scare me like that." Anna looked at her confused. Nina pshaw-ed at the expression, "Father is inside the library talking to Ryu."

"He's talking to a dragon?" Anna was even more confused.

Mater gave her a lopsided smile, "I forgot that you weren't told yet." He typed in a few more keys before closing his small laptop computer, "Ryu is a Brood."

Anna's eyes shone, "A Brood? You mean... a real Brood?"

"At least some people know what a Brood is." Nina gave Mater a look at that comment and he just chuckled. Anna rushed up to Mater and grabbed his arm, hugging it to her chest, which made him blush, "D-don't do that!"

Mater struggled to free his arm from her breasts and arms but she locked him in, "Did he transform into a handsome man just like the ancient stories? Does he have long hair? How about his teeth? How old does he look? Ooh! Did he talk? Did he talk?" Mater's arm had lost blood circulation by the time she asked her last question and when she freed it tears threatened to roll down his cheeks when he experienced pins and needles. "It would be nice if he could talk."

Nina saw the admiration and the look of a dreamy girl. "He's fat and ugly, balding, has rotten teeth, bad smelly armpits and all he does is grunt." Anna broke into tears and Nina tried to suppress a laugh.

Mater gave Anna a worried smile, "She was just joking with you. He's quite handsome and he does talk."

Anna gave him a look that made him freeze in his seat, "Mater?" He cowered when she towered him, "You're not falling in love with him, are you?"

Mater blushed, "No! No, no!" He laughed out of embarrassment and disbelief. "I've got a..." He closed his mouth with his hand.

Nina and Anna lost interest of Ryu and were now standing in front of Mater, caging him. "You've got a what?"

Mater closed his eyes and sighed, "This is bad."

* * *

The King looked at the man whom his daughter had named Ryu. Mater had lent him his lab coat but since he was a lot taller than the pink headed guy, he was forced to wear one of the bigger soldiers' trousers, which was dusty and smelled of sweat. The King walked closer to Ryu and the Dragon man took a few steps back. 

The old man sighed in confusion. "Sit here." The King said to Ryu. He did what he was told.

"Why did you come to Wyndia?" The King seated himself in one of the huge chairs that were located in front of the unlit fireplace. He stared hard at Ryu.

Ryu shivered not from the cold but the piercing stare. "I... I followed a voice." The King remained silent. Ryu leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, "It was a quiet voice but I followed it."

"In the chest." Ryu jerked his head up to look at the old man, "Did you hear the voice from the chest?" Ryu nodded. "So it's true then. The time has come at last." The King rose from his seat and walked towards his table where he gently touched the corner of a picture frame before walking towards the huge window behind his desk.

There was a pregnant silence between them and Ryu became overly uncomfortable. "Your... Majesty, may I ask what you mean by what you said earlier?"

The King moved his head enough to see Ryu sitting in the smaller armchair. He fully turned to look at him and walked in huge, long strides, reaching Ryu in a matter of seconds. "Who was your mother?"

Ryu paled for a bit and then looked away. The King staggered backwards, "It was her, wasn't it?" When Ryu nodded the King turned away. There was another long silence but Ryu slowly raised his head to look at the man who was now kneeling in front of his table, his whole body shook as silent sobs took over him. Ryu continued to stare. When the King finally stopped his silent tears, he asked in a strong yet gentle voice, "How did she die?"

"She died protecting me from the Protectors." Ryu told him.

The King continued to ask, "And you've lived with her for how long?"

"Almost ninety years, Your Majesty." He answered.

"Ninety years." The old King struggled to stand as if it was his first time realizing that he was now an old man. "I only left her for ninety years..."

Ryu jumped off his chair, "Your Majesty?" The King turned and Ryu saw the blood streaming down the man's forehead from the scars above his eyebrows. "You're...?"

The King raised his hands and touched the red horns that had sprouted from his forehead and he gave Ryu a smile, "Come here... my son."

* * *

**Author's Blurb:**

Oh yeah--- (_does weird chicken _dance) Third chapter up!!

_Nessmk: _Thank you again for reading the second chapter! I've sent you some sort of private message but I'm guessing it did not reach you or I sent it to the wrong person (_whoopsie..._ --;) So to answer the question in your last comment, "YES! I would love to read your stories! But I don't see any on your homepage. Do you use another account? If so, please send me a link!"

_fel: _No, this won't be a yaoi/shounen-ai fanfic (_although I DID thought of it_). And Mater, the pink haired guy, is not gay. Haha! He's just feminine. :D

Uhm... okay, I ran out of pages. Haha! I was gonna make it longer but I told myself, "No." I have to limit myself in case I don't do any of my work (_that's why I was **almost** late to post this up_). The truth is... I didn't think Nina's father, the King, was going to be a Brood too... HAHA! I suddenly remembered about his scars and I thought, "Whoa... Scars on forehead. Talk about Spyro." I don't even know WHY I thought Spyro...

Fourth chapter will be up next week so if you're interested just put an alert on the story--!!

This is Bashi signing off hoping to write more for your entertainment and pleasure!

PS: I became an aunt on April 15th and received my niece's pictures today. She is so unbelievably cute. I've posted her picture up on **Facebook** and I might post it up on **DeviantART** when I have the time--!!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Ryu was hesitant. His father still had his arms open wide. Long before his mother was killed by the Protectors she had said his father had left in a war that involved the Gods, the Protectors, the Dragons and the Guardians. While his father was warring against the Gods and Protectors, his mother and a few non-warrior women members of the clan were hidden in the Scarred Dragon Labyrinth.

After a year had passed in the labyrinth, she gave birth to him and as he grew up, she told him about his father, stories that made him open his eyes wide in admiration for the father he had never met. Ryu shook his head. And only a few months ago the Protectors finally broke through the deep labyrinth defenses.

"Why didn't you come to search for us?" Ryu finally asked him. He still stood where he was.

The King lowered his arms and looked away but he didn't move from his spot, "You do know about the Second Winter Wars, do you not?" He saw Ryu nod. "The war lasted for twenty-three long years. In the end, the Gods and Protectors who were allies won the battle. Any Guardians found were killed on the spot. Dragons were slain but Broods quickly turned into humans to escape death. Some of us, including me, survived."

"Twelve years after the end of the war, I lived my life as a human. Every so often I would think of going back to the arms of my beloved Kaisa but she was safer in the labyrinth than out in the world with me... or so I thought." He whispered the last few words. He looked up and stared at Ryu. His eyes were full of emotion but they were also empty, "And since I was pretending to be human, I had to live a human life. I traveled across the country and when I reached a town called Sesh, I met a young woman. I am ashamed to say this knowing that I had a wife but I fell in love with her."

Ryu just watched him quietly and the King continued after taking a seat in his armchair signaling Ryu with his hands to do the same. He sat down. "She taught me how to love a human. But I moved away after we were married for fifteen years. She was infected by a disease that all the humans in the town caught. She saw me as a demon for not being affected by the disease. And that was when I came here and met with another woman."

Ryu sat back on his armchair. "You fell in love with her too?"

The King straightened his back. For a moment, Ryu saw the piercing, harsh gaze that he had first witnessed the first time he saw him. For a moment... he was scared. But the King lowered his shoulders and put his chin on his entwined hands. His eyes were lost in thought but still sharper than ever. "I didn't fall in love with her. She fell in love with me. She ordered me to marry her." He looked up, "I was a no one. I was a stranger who happened to step foot in a city and that was what she wanted. The previous King ordered me to marry her or I was to be hanged. I married. Seventeen years later, we had a child."

"Nina?" Ryu asked. Ryu was surprised at how heavy the question weighed on him. He couldn't describe the feeling.

"No." The King answered and Ryu felt the weight lift. "Anna was born." He smiled lovingly as he said her name. Ryu felt a little pang of jealousy but as soon as it hit him it faded. "Nina is not my daughter." Ryu waited for him patiently. For some reason he was relieved to hear that too. "Nina was the daughter of a common Wyndian woman who had lost her life to protect my wife in an assassination. Nina was one year old then. She was too young to remember. Anna shut the idea of Nina as an outsider as soon as I took her in."

They hadn't noticed it before but it had started to rain. The droplets attacked the windows lightly, beating a relaxing rhythm that filled the absence of noise in the room. Ryu tilted his head back and looked at the ceiling before looking back at the King. "And shall I call you father from now on then?"

The King tensed. The word father coming from between Ryu's lips filled him with a joy he had not experienced since he had married Kaisa, his dragon wife. There were unshed tears in his eyes when he finally lifted his head to look at Ryu. The smile though, slowly disappeared, "No. That would not do. I have a kingdom now. Our relationship should only be spoken of privately."

Even after all that, Ryu still had admiration for this man... this Brood. He was hurt that when he finally found him he couldn't call him 'father' freely but knowing that he was here, close to him, was enough. He stood up, kneeled down next to him and lowered his forehead on his father's knee. "Agreed... father."

* * *

"How long do you think they're going to be in there?" Nina had continued to pace the floor. Anna was beside Mater, still trying to get the information of his love life from him but Momo's descendant wasn't going to blurt anything out soon. His tactics included diverting the topics to Ryu's handsome appearance and Wyndia's history. But it only worked for a few minutes before Anna returned to the original question of 'Who are you going out with?' 

Nina stopped when the door opened to reveal the King. Anna stood up and rushed up to him, "What happened, father?! You're bleeding!" She pulled out a handkerchief out from her sleeve and dabbed at his forehead and face.

All he did was nod. Ryu bounced out of the room through the crack of the door in his dragon form. He looked at the King who didn't look back and walked all the way to Nina. She picked him up and blushed when she remembered he was a full-grown man. The King looked to his side after Anna finished wiping his face. She was still asking her father questions but he has yet to answer any of them.

Mater stood up when their eyes made contact and he bowed his head. The King called to him and he walked his way up to him. Anna moved away and stood by the King's side. "Yes, my King?"

"There is a task I would like to give you. Let us talk in my library." He reentered the room and Mater followed him. He closed the door.

Nina frowned and Anna did the same. Suddenly, both their stomach grumbled and they laughed. "Well, let's go eat. I haven't had breakfast this morning and it's already past lunch." Anna told Nina and she nodded. With Ryu in her arms, Nina and her sister walked all the way to the dining room.

Mater was still in the library with the King when they were back in Nina's room. She realized that when she was lying on her stomach on her bed that Ryu was paying a lot of attention to Anna. He was nibbling her fingers and playing with her. Whenever she laughed Ryu would roll around on the floor. Sometimes he would pounce on her gently and run away, waiting for her to chase him which, of course, she did. What Nina found funny was that they had completely forgotten that he was an adult. In his Kid form, he behaved like a kitten, a new born pup that had lots of energy and this behavior made her believe that he was just another little dragon.

There was a far off bell that was rung to indicate it was time for people to return to their homes and sleep. Not everyone would be going home to sleep but it helped to tell the time. Nina yawned. She was tired from pacing half the day and right now her legs muscles were exhausted. She closed her eyes for a moment and felt something moving against her stomach. She opened her eyes and saw Ryu curled next to her. She smiled and searched the room for Anna. It turned out that closing her eyes for a moment was as long as a few hours. She sighed and closed her eyes again. She was thankful that Anna had turned the lights off. Usually she would do it herself but right now... She couldn't be bothered to. With a last yawn, she bent her knees a little higher and curled a little to make a wall around Ryu and slept again.

But only a few minutes after her heavy eyelids shut a small alarm went off. She blinked a couple of time and muttered a soft curse under her breath. How she wished that Mater and his team of scientists did not create a communication device. Mater, after reading books from a dimension completely alternate to theirs, created a device called the telephone. Since they didn't have all the materials that the alternate dimension had, they made do with whatever Mater could find was similar. The telephone was powered by chrysms. Chrysm is a form of confined energy from dead creatures.

She picked it up, "Mh-what?" She mumbled in a hoarse voice. She touched her throat, suddenly realizing she was thirsty. She looks down at Ryu and he was still asleep.

"Don't be so grumpy. It's only two in the morning." Nina heard the tapping and clicking of keys as Mater was entering data into his computer. "I just got out of the library."

Nina lowered her head, face-down, on the pillow. "Wow... what did you two talk about?"

"Oh, nothing much." There was a hint of sarcasm in his voice and she smiled. The long hours must have annoyed Mater. "Just the usual reports and kingdom status."

"I thought 'kingdom status' was the Operations Officer's job..." Nina mumbled, "If father keeps on asking you for every report I think you'd spontaneously combust." She heard him chuckle and she smiled. His chuckle was more like a giggle when he was tired.

He stopped and his tone of voice was a little serious now. It made Nina sit up. Ryu stirred but didn't awaken. "Nina, your father would like me to go off in a mission. He said he had planned the people for me to take along the way but it isn't an army of ten thousand Wyndians. Just me and another."

"He asked you to go grocery shopping?" She joked.

"No, although I wish it was." Mater said honestly. "He asked me to travel to the Scarred Dragon Labyrinth with--."

She waited and when she heard that he had stopped clicking on the keys of his keyboard she knew he was hesitating whether to tell her or not, "Well?" She forced him to tell.

"He wants me to take Ryu with me."

"HAAAAAAA?!" Ryu woke up.

* * *

**Author's Blurb:**

Yup. I have to apologize for not updating last week. I will update twice this week including this chapter.

_fel: _Thank you for your comments. In this chapter I've explained why the people don't realize why he had been living for over 90 years (He has actually lived for more than 3 centuries!) And I made sure that no one can bust his ass and say that they recognized him from before he came to Wyndia by killing everyone in _Sesh_ with a disease! Haha! But yeah. And I hope you understand now why I used the Protectors instead of the defenders.

_The Defensive End: _You bring tears of joy to my eyes. 'Nothing to criticize', 'serious potential', 'update soon'... Magical words to my eyes! Thank you so much for the encouragement! I shall try my best to update weekly even when my floorboards shake and brain-sucking zombies bang on my door!

Alright! Thank you all for reading. Even if you didnt comment, just read, at least I hope you enjoyed it!! Uhrm... What else? Oh yeah. The King. Yeesh! He makes me smile. He seems like a character who would never talk a lot unless it's about business but he starts talking about the past and I can't shut him up! XD And oh my... I had to do some mathematical equations for his life! That's 90 years! Haha! Wonder how much history I could put in here with ALL his 300 plus years? By the way, he reigned over the kingdom for only forty years, which would make him look around late twenties to early thirties when he married the Wyndian princess. And... This chapter took up the whole three pages! Haha! I had to cut words off just so that it wouldn't drop down to the fourth page!

Fifth chapter will be up this week so if you're interested just put an alert on the story--!!

This is Bashi signing off hoping to write more for your entertainment and pleasure!

PS: Are you guys interested in 'previews'? Just tell me so and I might write it in on the fifth chapter! Oh! And I can't believe the amount of fun I had watching YouTube. I can never get bored of that. I watched while eating veggie curry (and I don't know why you'd want to know about my life but if you're reading this... well... cool!) XD

(Previews: Cliffhanger bits of the next chapter.)


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

After arguing with her father and not being able to change his mind, Nina ran away into her room with Ryu locking the door behind her. "Nina!" She tensed when her father raised his voice. Nina wrapped her arms around Ryu's little dragon form and ignored his whimper. "Open this door, Nina." He said in a lower yet stronger voice.

"I am not giving you Ryu until you let me go with him!" She looked around the room. She wished she hadn't gone up here after the little talk battle with her father. Now she's trapped and he might just pull out a key to unlock her door. She turned around in circles searching for a place to hide and sarcastically laugh at her own stupidity. If she hid, they'd surely find her. She saw the window.

"Ryu?" She looked at the little dragon and he lifted his head up to look into her blue eyes, "We're going to jump out of the window." He gave her a weird look. She walked over the window and looked down. This was the first time she felt a little dizzy from looking out of it. She smiled nervously while her father and a few others tried to convince her to come out, "You know what, Ryu?" He looked away from the bottom and at her, "I wish I paid attention to gliding class and strengthened my wings enough to fly."

Ryu tensed. Did she mean to say she couldn't fly-- OR glide?

"Here goes nothing." Nina put her foot forward on the windowsill. Once her whole body was out of the window with her feet on the ledge her bedroom door burst open. She wasn't ready to jump just yet but the force of the confined air in the room and the burst of the door opening compressed the air and push her off. "AIII-YEEEEEEEE!!!"

"Nina!!!" Her father shouted out and everyone rushed over to the window. When they looked down all they could do was stare agape at Ryu who had grabbed the edge of the ledge in human form and Nina's wrist... naked.

* * *

Nina was red on the face as her father lectured about her recklessness. "If Ryu hadn't caught the ledge, what then? You know you failed your gliding training and your flying skills are painfully non-existent." Her father said as he continued to pace in front of her. Her carpet was worn down by the time he stopped with his back at her, "You're staying here until Mater and Ryu has left the kingdom." 

"But--!"

He turned to face her and his piercing eyes stopped her from saying anything else. She was a little hurt and irritated at the same time. Hasn't she trained enough with magic spells? She could help them during their journey, which would be full of monsters. The King sighed, "I know what you are thinking, Nina. You're not strong enough just yet."

"How could I be strong if I'm not allowed to fight?" She looked at him with wide eyes, "Please, father?

"I have a task prepared for you." He said as if he didn't hear her. She turned her head and looked at the floor between her feet. "I want you to guard your sister."

"Excuse me?" Nina looked at him. Anna had bodyguards of her own with skills far better than Nina's. The thought of her guarding Anna was a surprise.

"Today, I'll be announcing to the whole of Wyndia that she is to become their ruler." Nina shook her head when he said this; not believing him, "I am stepping down from this Royal position."

"But you can't do that! It's too short of a notice!" Nina stood up from her seat and confronted him, something she thought she would never ever do. "People trust you to be their King and to guide them! Why would you want to step down, father?"

He smiled and placed a loving hand on her shoulder. She calmed down a little, "Because I'm going with them to the labyrinth."

"What?" She moved his hand away. He walked out of the room but Nina didn't follow him. Her phone rang and she walked to it slowly, letting the alarm shriek a few more times before picking it up.

"I guess from your silence your father have told you what it is he's going to do." Mater's voice gently spoke from the other end of the line. He got a little grunt as a reply. "Don't worry; we'll take care of him."

"A boy who throws bottles and an 89 year old dragon with butterfly chasing skills are going to protect my father?" There was a long pause in their conversation before Nina spoke again, "I'm sorry for calling them bottles."

"That's alright." She heard the smile in his voice. Of course he wasn't expecting that apology. He was waiting for an apology for calling him a boy and she knew that but he accepted it all the same. "Look, Nina, I think what he's doing is best for everyone. He's stepping down now after a long reign and your sister is loved by the people here. Maybe if you listen to your father on this and learn how to fly--" There was a small chuckle from him and Nina reddened, "you might be able to go on a journey with Ryu when we come back."

"I really do have no choice, do I?" Nina asked the rhetorical question after a short pause. She smiled, "Thanks Mater. I'll talk to you... when you get back."

"What do you mean? Aren't you seeing us off?" Mater asked with a genuine disappointment in his voice. Nina told him what her father had said and he sighed, "Well... I'll call from time to time. Make sure you pick up, alright?" Nina nodded although she knew he wouldn't be able to see that. Mater said his goodbye and she hung up.

The pink haired man listened to the long beep of the phone line and hung up too. Ryu asked him if she was okay and Mater turned to look at Ryu who was being measured by the engineers and tailors. They were going to make him a light armor and a few clothes to bring on their journey tomorrow. Mater smiled, "Other than being grumpy and brooding, she's fine."

Ryu smiled, "That's good." Mater watched the people's hands fly around in a blur of motions as they busily shouted numbers from one to the other, slapping their measuring tape on Ryu's body and jotting down in their notepads. Once they were done, they stampeded out of the laboratory's safe area. Ryu looked at Mater and tilted his head to one side as he scratched the side of his face with one finger, "Is something wrong?"

"You said you were eighty-nine years old." Mater said suddenly, "What is your Brood age?" He asked Ryu.

Ryu wondered. "There is no such thing as a Brood age. We age just like humans do." He smiled.

"But you look no older than twenty." He said, "If you age just like humans then you'd be older than the King."

'--which isn't true.' Ryu thought to himself. "I'm one of those Broods who have more dragon blood." He answered. 'Just like father...'

Mater put this information away into the back of his mind for future research and smiled. "I understand." He walked past Ryu and picked up a small pouch, "Are you hungry?"

Ryu was silent for a moment, wondering if he was and then he nodded. "Come on then, let's go eat before you help me pack my stuff." He walked over to the door, "I need to meet someone before we go tomorrow."

* * *

Ryu ate the meal that was bought for him and ordered another when Mater offered him another round. "Your friend does eat a lot, doesn't he?" Mater's friend said. 

Ryu looked at the woman again. Like Mater, she had pink hair but she had long dog ears sticking out from the top of her head. It almost makes her look like a rabbit. She was the same height as Mater and had the same face shape. If Ryu didn't know better, he would have thought that she was closely related to him through blood.

"Yes, he does." He smiled. He turned to look at her, "Yon, you know I'm leaving tomorrow, right?"

She nodded, "I overheard someone talking about it." She looked around the small restaurant bar and saw her friend waving at her, she smiled and waved back, "Somewhere near the bar counter."

Mater just nodded. If someone knew about the mission then the King must have already told the kingdom about his stepping down. "Don't wait for me if I take too long."

Yon just looked at her half-eaten meal and smiled, "That's the thing, Mater." She said, "I've already found another man."

Ryu didn't hear the conversation and had already started eating his second meal. Mater turned to look at her, "Already." He repeated but the word he said didn't hurt him at all. They've been seeing each other for a while but were not together. They were just lovers so to speak. "I don't mind."

"It's your brother." She continued.

"Really?" He asked; this time a little surprised. His brother had already fathered more than a dozen children and now he was going out with Yon. He sighed. This was the only reason why he didn't like being born in the Dog race. His hand subconsciously went up to his head and under the thick pink hair he could feel the small dog ears he had pinned down to his head. "Lucky you then." He smiled and pushed his glasses up along his nose.

Unlike his brother who was a full Dog breed, he had half Wyndian blood in his making him unworthy for breeding and handing down genes. It never bothered him before until now. "Well... I guess we're going now." Mater said in a soft voice.

"Please don't hate us." Yon told him. He just shook his head as he smiled.

Ryu wiped his lips with a napkin that the restaurant bar provided and stood up when Mater told him they were leaving. He followed Mater out and Yon stood up, put a huge smile on her face and continued her job as a waitress.

* * *

**Author's Blurb**: 

_fez_: Thanks for the review! Makes me glad people still read my stuff and have the time to leave a comment. And giving up on fanfics? Not just yet-- Haha!

Okay! I made it just in time! (I almost forgot to write this fifth chapter and I whacked myself in the head when I realized today was the last day of this week! Haha!) Another filler chapter before the journey starts and WHOA! What? The King stepped down just like that? I know that is SO un-real but hey-! This is a fiction story. Haha! But still... woulda' been good with some kind of logic, Bashi... _-sigh-_

Sixth chapter will be up next week so if you're interested just put an alert on the story--!

This is Bashi signing off hoping to write more for your entertainment and pleasure--!

* * *

**Chapter **6 **Preview**

Rafael grabbed a sword and held it high, looking up at the huge blade. Out here in the sun, he looked like a hero. His white hair had a tint of blue under the sunlight and his eyes were piercing, cold steel. He swung the sword low and thrust it a few times before shouting out a word. The sword sliced the air and a gust of wind shattered a nearby tree, which Ryu had to dodge. Mater was sitting on the boulder, watching in amazement at the power. Rafael turned his attention to Mater and he grinned.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

The King mounted the camel-like creature called the Kro. Unlike the normal Kroes with short, steel-armored beaks; the King's was a Master Kro. It had a longer and sharper, silver-armored beak indicating it's ability to command other normal Kroes in its clan. The Kro flapped its tiny wings, which are really just used for attracting the opposite sex.

Mater tied two Kroes that carried supplies to his and watched as Ryu talked to the Kro assigned to him. It was interesting how it seemed to understand what the Brood was talking about and Mater found this even more so interesting when the King also did the same when he first received his latest Master Kro.

Ryu smiled after finishing his conversation with the Kro and mounted the creature. He looked at the King and lowered his head as Mater spoke to his majesty, "Preparations are complete, your Highness."

"Please." The King raised his hand, "I am not a King anymore. Call me by my name."

Mater had a feeling of uneasiness as the name slipped from between his lips, "Yes, Rafael." The older man smiled. Ryu just moved his Kro forward and stopped it beside the man who was the King only a few hours ago. He gave the man a smile and Rafael returned it. Mater jumped onto his mount and clucked his tongue, following the other two closely.

It was dark and the sun had yet to color dawn but already the kingdom was awake to watch the man they have respected and loved take his journey. All of them bowed their heads in silence as they put their hands together placing both thumbs on the bridge of their noses in a sign of respect and luck.

Already their figures turned into silhouettes as they stepped out of the Kingdom's gates and not long after, they disappeared into the thick darkness. Nina and Anna watched the figures blend in with the shadows. This would be the first time that they were alone together. Their father had left the whole of his responsibilities upon his daughters.

"Nina?" The blonde turned to face her older sister whose silver eyes were slightly darker as dawn broke over the horizon. "Would you like to go with them?" Nina's heart soared but she stopped herself from expressing it. In that short silence though, Anna had already gotten her answer. "Because if you want to... You'll have to train every single day; ten times as hard."

Nina turned to face her fully and lowered her head in a small bow, "Yes, my Queen."

She received a knock on her head. Nina rubbed it gently as she felt a slight bump begin to grow, "Call me a Queen again," Anna said to her, "and I'll split open your skull." Nina raised an eyebrow, worried. If she had known her sister was going to act like their father she wouldn't have minded falling off the ledge yesterday.

* * *

Rafael grabbed a sword and held it high, looking up at the huge blade. Out here in the sun, he looked like a hero. His white hair had a tint of blue under the sunlight and his eyes were piercing, cold steel. He swung the sword low and thrust it a few times before shouting out a word. The sword sliced the air and a gust of wind shattered a nearby tree, which Ryu had to dodge. Mater was sitting on the boulder, watching in amazement at the power. Rafael turned his attention to Mater and he grinned. 

"It isn't very powerful." Rafael told him. "Tell me where I did it wrong."

Mater quickly memorized the move and started to analyze every single action. "Your wrist, your high--" Mater shook his head, "Rafael." He corrected himself. "You shouldn't bend it at all. If you do, the sword's direction will change and the power of the swing would lower. Also, instead of swinging it in a straight level, you should swing it upwards. It would make a huge difference."

Rafael nodded and tried the swing again. Ryu rubbed his head. They had been in the journey for half the day and covered good ground. The Kroes were trained very well for this long distance journey. While the three Kroes they rode could still go on for another half a day, the Kroes that were carrying their supplies have already tired themselves out.

He looked up. It wasn't going to rain because there weren't enough clouds in the sky but he had a feeling of dread. "What's wrong, Ryu?" Mater asked the question from the safety of the boulder as Rafael destroyed another tree. This time it was a dead, petrified tree that took him five swings to break.

Ryu turned his head slightly, "I don't feel too well."

"Are you ill?" Rafael removed his attention from his sword and stared at Ryu with a hidden look of concern.

"I feel uneasy." Ryu said. He had felt this feeling. Before he scraped his knee or hurt himself. The day before his clan was attacked in the labyrinth. But the feeling slowly receded. The dread disappeared like as if it never existed. "But I'm better now."

His father looked at him and then cracked his neck. Mater flinched when he heard it. He didn't mind if people cracked or popped their bones but when Rafael did, it sounded unbelievably painful and loud. Rafael looked at the tree he had recently broken and smiled, "Ryu!" He called out. Ryu turned to face his father. "What weapon can you handle?"

"A boomerang." The other two stared at Ryu. The blue-haired man's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "Is something wrong?"

Mater was the first to speak, "A boomerang. You use a boomerang?"

"How can you fight with a boomerang?" His father asked before Ryu could reply to Mater's question.

"Not a small boomerang." Ryu realized now how they imagined his weapon to be. He spread his arms open and suddenly a crescent shaped light appeared. It transformed into a solid shape and Ryu held it up in one hand. The huge, white boomerang was twice as long as he was and Mater stared in amazement.

Rafael stared. He wasn't surprised that Ryu was able to carry the whole boomerang in one hand but he was shocked to have feelings towards it. "What... is it?"

Ryu understood what Rafael was asking. He laid one end to the ground and smiled, "It's made out of the bones of one of my mother's wings. Half a century ago, her wing was wounded and it shattered while saving me from a falling structure."

Rafael looked at him and sheathed his sword, "May I touch it?" Ryu carried it over and presented it to him. Rafael moved his hand towards the boomerang and gently touched the soft surface. It gleamed in the sunlight a translucent white and although the surface was soft, little sharp edges covered it.

"She's beautiful, isn't she?" Ryu asked him. Of course, all Rafael could do, was stare at the weapon.

Mater watched the silent scene in front of him. He didn't really understand it. The first time Rafael saw Ryu, he wanted him killed and now, they were on a journey to the Scarred Dragon Labyrinth together and sharing this small moment of peace.

A rumbling sound built up from the west and the three perked up and looked to the direction of the noise. It wasn't long before Rafael freed his sword out in one quick pull. Ryu gripped on his weapon and Mater climbed a higher, much bigger boulder than the previous one he occupied.

"Mater! What do you see?" Rafael shouted at the young dog-man.

The pink haired man pushed his spectacles up along the bridge of his nose and attached extra lenses to them. He frowned and he snarled; his small fangs appearing. "Berserkers!"

* * *

Nina pulled at her short hair then twirled it around as she watched her sister sit behind their father's work table. Anna has been looking through so many papers that it was driving her just a little bit crazy. It was a surprise that she could even stay awake reading the small prints. Nina exhaled her puffy cheeks. It was going to be a long day and she knew it even before they stepped into the study room. 

The blonde walked over to the window and watched the kingdom bustling beneath them. There was nothing wrong with what was happening. Everyone was doing what they were doing from before and they were work, play and socialize. She wondered how the three were doing and stared at the gates. People came in and out of the kingdom and she watched the soldiers check everyone before entering or leaving.

Nina exhaled again and Anna sighed. "If you'd like to go and frolic in the grass then go ahead. I won't stop you." She went back to the papers.

"It's not that, Anna." Nina explained, "I just miss father."

"Already?" Anna questioned her with a cold stare that she seemed to get the hang of. "Father gave us a duty to take care of our kingdom."

"He gave you that duty. He gave me the duty to baby-sit you." Nina told her.

"Well, I bet father only told you to stay because you aren't good with most of your chanting yet." Anna stacked the papers she had already read into nice stacks and continued with the others, "So he wants you to be stronger and when he comes back I bet he'd be proud of you."

Nina chuckled annoyingly, "Pshaw! He'd be proud of me? That would be a nice thing to hear from him." She stretched her wings and rubbed the joins she could touch. "Proud of me..."

Anna absent-mindedly stared at the paper in front of her and thought to herself how Nina should train harder than ever before if ever to impress their father. She smiled, "You can do this, Nina."

Nina smiled in surprise, "Thanks, Anna."

Anna returned the smile, "You're welcomed, sister dear." She looked away.

* * *

**Author's Blurb:**

Sorry about the LONG hiatus. School, exhibition, family and love life got jumbled up together. Haha--! Anyway, here I present to you Chapter 6 of **Breath of Fire: Wildflower**!

Seventh chapter might be up this week so if you're interested just put an alert on the story--!

This is Bashi signing off hoping to write more for your entertainment and pleasure--!

* * *

**Chapter 7** **Preview**

Mater pulled the mask and stared at the face behind it. This was no Berserker. This was... 


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Ryu jumped away from an axe that was thrown at him. With the lack of battle skills Ryu had, the blade deeply sliced his cheek. The pain was excruciating but he held it in. His boomerang returned to him after uncountable failed attacks and he managed to bounce a smaller weapon away from injuring him. These 'Berserkers' that Mater identified was quick and agile. The flexibility of their bodies was remarkable that even if they were the opponents Ryu couldn't help but be amazed.

Rafael, who have killed a few and critically crippled more than a dozen, was already gasping for air. His hair was plastered on his forehead; sweat was both trickling and flicked. It was difficult to properly use his special sword skills with the enemies doing group attacks. He evaded a small attack from one of the Berserkers and almost got slashed by another one that was behind him. He knocked one out and the other ran off to group up with another. "I'm getting too old for this!" Rafael shouted as he swung his sword at an unguarded Berserker.

Mater, who had been throwing vials of poisons and small glass bombs, had to resort to picking up little stones and throwing it at them. It wasn't very effective but because of his exceptional aim and eyesight, with the help of his spectacles, he was able to attack some of their vital points by chance every now and then. He was, though, out of energy from picking up the stones from the ground and not long after that, a group of five Berserkers have surrounded him. Mater breathed hard and then let out a long sigh, "I didn't think I'd die like this."

Just as he said that a gust of wind that came from Rafael's slice took down two of the Berserkers taking the attention of the rest that were still standing. In that moment, Mater lunged at another two and pushed them away, creating a small chaos between Berserkers. Suddenly they all heard a loud growl. Everyone looked at Ryu as he threw his boomerang towards the rest of the masked Berserkers.

The rest that were still able picked some of the injured and left the dead on the ground. Ryu's weapon returned to its master and he caught it with a single hand. It disappeared as soon as he willed it and dropped to his knees along with the others. The Kroes that were trained stayed well where they were. One of the Kroes that carried supplies was badly injured and Rafael knew it had to be killed. He sighed and got up. With the sword held high in the air he let it fall down, striking the Kro in its neck, ending its life without any further pain.

Mater pulled his spectacles away and let out a breath of relief. He heard a small moan coming from behind him and when he perked up both Rafael and Ryu tensed. They both stood up, prepared to challenge whatever was making the noise.

The dog man's eyes caught sight of a wounded enemy and got up, walking cautiously towards him. When he was sure the Berserker was too hurt to do any harm to him he walked over and kneeled beside the body. Mater pulled the mask and stared at the face behind it. This was no Berserker. This was...

* * *

Nina threw a fireball at a small target and quickly turned to burn another moving target that crept up to her side. Without hesitation, she chanted a short spell and a low level Earth magic guarded around her as a few little imps were released. Inside her Earth shell Nina chanted a longer spell. She could hear the imps bashing against her defense and she knew that if she couldn't complete the spell in time the imps with their blunt weapons could easily knock her down. Sweat trickled down the side of her face. She knew this next spell attack would hurt her as well especially when she's enclosed in such a small space but not as much it would injure her opponents. As she chanted she tried to calculate how many imps were outside her defense. There were three when she covered herself but from the sounds there seemed to be more. 

She could hear the hardened Earth protecting her crack. There was a little breeze and she knew it wasn't from her spell. She almost lost concentration when light shone through a huge crack. She could see one of the imps' faces and she furrowed her eyebrows as she shut her eyes to focus. She was not going to lose this battle.

Suddenly she opened her eyes wide and let out a cry, "Release! Sephyr Cyclone!"

She could feel the wind sharply scratch the surface of her skin enough to make her bleed. The wind built up and suddenly broke open the Earth shell turning them into rocky shards that flew randomly away from her in a burst. The imps were pierced and all of them were dead by the time the small swirling cyclone ceased. Nina breathed hard as she stared at the imps on the ground. Slowly, they began to fade and turned into small orbs. This was the best part of battle for her because sometimes the small orbs contained jewelry.

Anna walked into the small arena after a short horn was blown. "You've improved." Nina turned to smile at her sister who seemed to have gotten a hang of the Queenly routine in the few hours that she was crowned. She knew she only came by to see her progress. In a few minutes, judging from the soldiers behind her, she was to go to the Hall of Clovers. "Are you taking a rest now?"

Nina nodded. After training endlessly for three hours she needed to grab something to drink. They walked over to a table where a few of the maids quickly poured iced drinks for their majesties. "Are you heading over to Clovers?"

Anna massaged her temple, "Yes. I've only been in charge for one morning and already there's a disagreement about a woman running the kingdom."

Nina knew this was going to happen. In such short notice, without the other three neighboring kingdoms who shared the continent told, there was bound to be some argument. Messengers were sent the night before and when they got back, Anna was given three letters from each of the kings. Only one had no objection to the quick change being a newly crowned king himself while the other two were just old fashioned, stereotypical, thick bearded kings.

The only solution was to head over to the Hall of Clovers in Clovers, which was almost in the center of the continent where the four kingdoms have agreed, is a neutral, war-free zone. Nina sipped her drink and wiped her lips with the back of her hand. She stared at her sister. Even if Anna was older than she was, Nina had to admit that she was jealous of her youthful looks. Anna returned her stare and then cleared her throat, which in turn made Nina focus.

"I came to see how you were doing..." Anna said to her, "And I can see you're doing quite well. There's still some time before I leave the kingdom so if you'd like me to bring something back say so right now."

Nina pondered about this a little and then nodded, "Clovers, right? That means you'll be passing through Salara." Nina raised her hand and waved it, calling a soldier over to her. After his salute, Nina spoke, "Bring me my staff."

The soldier quickly ran off and came back with her weapon in a case. Anna looked at it and realized what it was she wanted her to do. She raised her eyebrow angrily.

"He's the best blacksmith in this area! Even Mater can't beat his superiority in improving and upgrading weapons." Nina told her as she handed the case to one of Anna's soldiers.

Anna thought about it long and hard. Nina knew she hated the old man and she smiled at how that became. The old man had given the weapon to Nina when they were only children and when Anna's eyes widened in hope of getting one too he gave her a little doll. What Nina didn't understand was why her sister still kept the doll. It was her most cherished possession. Anna sighed in defeat, "Alright."

Nina smiled in thanks. They both stood up and gave each other a hug and when they parted, Nina kneeled on one knee and lowered her head with hands together while her thumbs touched the bridge of her nose. "Safe journey, Anna." Anna nodded and left the arena. As soon as her sister disappeared, Nina stood up and let out a long sigh. She looked at one of the soldiers and nodded. He pushed a button and the training restarted.

* * *

Mater had bound the enemy by the wrists, careful not to hurt her anymore. Rafael stared at her from the other side of the fire that Ryu had built for them. The blue haired Brood was nowhere to be seen since he was scouting the area for any surprise attacks. 

"Why did you attack us?" Rafael finally asked as the fire crackled softly.

Her cat ears perked up at the sound of his voice. She stared at him, her bright green eyes reflecting the warm light. Something about his voice made her feel terror, insecure and uneasy but at the same time she felt like she could trust him with her whole life. But she didn't answer his question.

Mater smelled her and she hissed. In reflex, his ears unclipped from his head and he barked from surprise. She continued to hiss and he had stopped himself from barking. He quickly backed away hiding his ears. He hated them.

Rafael watched as Mater went over to the Kroes and pretended to groom them. His silver eyes returned to look at the cat woman. Mater had treated her wounds and bandaged her. From where he was sitting, he could see that she was still a young kitten. "I'll ask again." This made her tense up. "Why did you attack us?"

The cat woman looked away from him and stared at the ground next to her where she saw a pair of boots that belonged to the other person in the group. Ryu looked down as she looked up. She hissed and he just smiled with a look of concern on his face. He moved away from her and started skinning some animals that he hunted during his scouting. "How are your wounds?"

That took the cat woman off guard. For some reason his voice made her feel like she could trust him more than the older man. She couldn't help but answer, "Fine." It was a little on the harsh side but the answer was enough to make Rafael quiet. He might as well let his son do all the talking. Ryu smiled. He was going to have a long night asking questions.

* * *

**Author's Blurb:  
**

_GuyverZero: _Thankees so much for saying it's cool! I hope to make my readers enjoy my fic as I enjoy writing it!

_Anime Monkey:_ One of the best? You make me cry happy tears! Thankees so much!

Yup! Chapter 7 up! How wonderful. We have almost all the main characters up in the story! Haha!

Anyway, this chapter was four pages but since I restricted myself to three I've made drastic cuts and editing. Now it's exactly three pages with three sections instead of five sections... Haha! Uhm... What else? Oh yeah. I might draw (and redraw Nina) in my devART website (link is in my profile). In a group picture of three people maybe?

I was going to upload this last week but uni assignments and my Peach boy stopped me from doing so. Hehe! Sorry guys!

On a last note, **THANK YOU EVERYONE WHO HAVE BEEN READING**!!! Much appreciated!

* * *

He pulled out his hand and Anna held it tightly as she closed her eyes. If they did what he said they should do their kingdoms would benefit greatly. But two huge kingdoms merging as one? Not only would there be more disagreements with the civilians and the other two kingdoms but a war. She shouldn't be hasty and think about it. Anna opened her eyes and looked at the young king, "Give me some time." 


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Nina picked up her pace as she raced with the other soldiers. She wasn't as fast as they were and she could feel herself turning red on the face not out of exhaustion but out of embarrassment. It seemed that she wasn't good at anything else but magic spells. She heard the general call out to her and she stopped. She placed her hands on bent knees as she gasped hard.

The general glanced at her briefly and then sighed. "Princess, if you're tired, please, rest." Nina shook her head. Again the general sighed. He knew she was going to be stubborn about it and he greatly admired her for that but if she was exhausted and fainted right there and then he would get an earful from the new Queen. "Please Princess. If you do not rest I will not hesitate to remove your training time allocations."

Nina was about to argue but then realized that when it came to training and battles, the general's words were final. She stood up with her back straight as she breathed in heavily. She walked away without a word.

* * *

Just as Anna sat down in one of the four high chairs in the Hall of Clovers with soldiers on either side, she heard a huge commotion from outside the doors. The one that was only to be used by the ruler of the Eastern Kingdom slowly opened to reveal the young King of Isopro. His golden hair shone under the natural light that was piercing through the hall's high windows and skylight. He was a huge man with skin that had darkened from training under the sun and he had faint shadows under his eyes, which were probably from lack of sleep. 

The King was surprised to see Anna already sitting in the chair that represented Wyndia, the Southern Kingdom. He walked over to her side and took her hand before placing a quick, small kiss on her knuckles. He smiled, "I am glad to have finally been given this chance to meet with the Wyndian Queen." Anna nodded, which wasn't what the young King had expected. He returned the acknowledgment with a curt nod and walked over to his own seat. He repeatedly glanced at her until the other Kings arrived.

The King of Rhigarngd burst through the Northern Kingdom doors. His eyes went straight to Anna and the scowl on his furry face was visible. The king was the hundredth descendant of the first hybrid. His body was covered in purple fur that faded as the lower half of his body changed into a serpent's body. He had three horns on the back of his head where the two on the outer edges curled outwards while the middle horn grew into a crescent; pointing upwards.

Before he could open his mouth to say anything, the doors of the Western Kingdom opened to reveal the small built King of Astin O'el. His thick white hair and beard framed his square face. His red eyes looked glanced at the Wyndian Queen, then the Isopan King Ajmad L'upa and finally the Rhigarngdan King Sehth the 100th. He bowed his head and quietly took his seat. "It seems that we are all here?" He was the oldest of the four and received much more respect.

The hybrid king growled. He slithered to his seat, which had been made especially for his giant body. Slowly, the doors were closed and the room was silent save for the breathings of the Kings and Queen.

The O'elan King sighed when the silence became unbearable and when he saw King Sehth give Anna hostile stares. Everyone turned their attention to him. "For the new, young Queen of Wyndia, I think it is best if we introduce ourselves." He looked at her. "I am King Glaiam Magnumim of Astin O'el."

Everybody jumped when the hybrid king slammed his fist on the table, "Introductions?! This is not the time for introductions!"

Anna stood up and they all quieted, "I am Queen Anna Bateon of the Southern Kingdom Wyndia." Her gray eyes never left King Sehth's which made him growl furiously.

"And I am Ajmad L'upa, King of Isopro." He smiled. The Rhigarngd King continued to growl but this time in a lower voice. King Ajmad continued, "Since we are all here we should get to the meeting."

"This is not a meeting!" King Sehth seethed his words through his teeth, slamming his fist again, stressing his words. "This is a call to tell this woman to leave the throne to a man! Like all of us here before her!"

Anna had never felt so insulted in her life. This time it was her turn to slam her fist on the table, "YOU aren't a man!" That almost got the king to get off his seat to go over to her but King Glaiam raised his hand. They were silence once more.

"Like Sehth," He spoke the other king's name with familiarity, "I do not believe it is appropriate to let a woman take over a whole kingdom especially when it is the second largest." He slipped his hand in front of him and interlaced his fingers; giving him a mysterious and sophisticated look. "Let alone a woman of such young age."

Of course, Anna agreed to what he said. He was being honest, truthful and he spoke in such a mature way that it made her almost believe she was guilty for taking such a huge title into her hands without proper training. She snapped out of her train of thoughts. It wasn't her who decided to govern a whole kingdom. Her father handed down the title to her and the soldiers and people of her kingdom have given their loyalty to her. She raised her head and looked at O'elan King. She spoke, "I may not be old enough to run a whole kingdom by myself but with the help of my people we'll try to protect and continue to build it the best we could."

That seemed to satisfy King Glaiam. "Then we shall continue with the next agenda." It surprised King Sehth. He was about to object but King Glaiam raised his hand again. "The next agenda." King Sehth scowled and the conference went smoothly except for the occasional opposing opinions from the Northern and Southern Kingdom.

When the meeting ended, the two older kings left the room to head back to their castles, which would take them about two days to reach, King Ajmad walked over to her side. Without her realizing it, he was next to her. "I have a proposition to make." Anna turned to face him. He waited for her to speak but when he didn't get anything, he continued, "Why don't we become one kingdom? You would still rule the Southern half."

Anna stared at him and then spoke. It was the first time she spoke directly to him, "I don't know."

"It would strengthen our ties and instead of you taking care of your kingdom alone I will be by your side." He smiled, "If there are any problems my kingdom would be there to protect without question."

She felt that this was too fast. If he had asked for her hand in marriage she would have easily rejected the King but this didn't only concern her own self but the whole of her Kingdom, the people. He placed a hand on her face and gently stroked her cheek. If people saw, they would think that it was an intimate gesture but they both knew this was not so. At that moment, they both felt like brother and sister. Both were new to the world of ruling and both were vulnerable.

He pulled out his hand and Anna held it tightly as she closed her eyes. If they did what he said they should do their kingdoms would benefit greatly; but two huge kingdoms merging as one? Not only would there be more disagreements with the civilians and the other two kingdoms but a war. She shouldn't be hasty and think about it. Anna opened her eyes and looked at the young king, "Give me some time."

* * *

Nina stared at the darkening sky. Anna wouldn't be back until tomorrow afternoon so the care of the Kingdom was down to her and one of the advisors. Nina moved her hair away from her eyes and continued to look outside. "Your Majesty?" She turned her head enough to see the advisor who was helping her read the paperwork. "Would you like to take a rest?" 

"No." Nina sighed heavily and looked back out the window. The advisor sighed as well. "But it would be nice if you took over for now." The advisor nodded as she walked out of the room.

Nina went over to the training grounds where they were flooded by both the lights that Mater had built and the magic spells being cast by a few of the magic soldiers. She left the grounds and went up to her room where she changed into her nightgown. Nina sat on her chair in front of the mirror and picked up a brush to use on her wings. She wondered how her father and the others were especially Ryu.

She puffed her cheeks and pouted. She really wanted to go with them. Nina walked heavily to her bed and dropped herself on the mattress while burying her face deep into her blankets. A soft breeze blew right into her room through the open windows and when she raised her eyes, she found it to be late in the evening.

"I must've slept." Nina said to herself. She sat up and rubbed her eyes while yawning. She shook her wings and got up, walked over to the huge window and stared down at the city. "This is Wyndia." She whispered breathily. "My home." She continued drowsily. Then, she stared hard at the people walking around the night markets, at the people going in and out of buildings that were houses, bars and small shops. "I'll be strong. I'll be strong for my Kingdom. I promise I'll protect you all." She closed her blue eyes.

"Princess?" Nina opened her eyes and shot up when the whole city was drowned with daylight. She turned around to see three of the maids look at her with smiling concerned expressions. "Is the Princess all right?"

"Gah!" Nina surprised the maids with her outburst, "I fell asleep again! The training must've taken much more energy than I thought! Is my bath prepared? My clothes? How about my training gear?" The maids nodded to all of her questions.

Nina mumbled, irritated by herself, "Just when I promised to be stronger." She smacked her forehead with the palm of her hand, "I slept on the window sill..."

* * *

**Author's Blurb:**

Oh wow. An update. Sorry about that guys. I really wanna thank the people who have reviewed and read my stories so far. I've been neglecting this story for a while (as well as my online manga haha!) but I'm trying to change all that. I'm trying to finish one chapter at least once a week as well as one page of online manga per week.

I wish I'll finish a chapter in time for next week as well since there's pressure coming from my uni tutors. I've been wasting my time catching up on sleep that I've piled work, fanfiction, drawings and the online manga into one huge mountain of workload.

Hope you enjoyed this one. Next chapter will be all about Ryu, Mater, Raphael and the cat girl. Hehe!

By the way, does anyone want me to make the page restriction longer than three pages? If you do, comment or PM, whichever you want. You could even send me an e-mail! OwO As long as you write: "**FF-Net**"somewhere in the subject line. Fanfiction related stuff, hehe!


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Rafael watched the cat girl sit on Ryu's Kro as his son walked beside her, holding the reins of his mount. Last night's questioning ended up in silent answers. The only words she had spoken since her capture was "fine", "water", a scream of "hot" repeatedly when she had burnt the tip of her tail from the fire and a few mewls.

Mater, who had been ahead of the group slowed his Kro and raised his arm. The others stopped behind him. He got off his Kro and took a few steps forward. He turned with a tired smile, "We've reached the town of Sillone. Should we stop there?"

Rafael cracked his neck and grunted from the pain, "If I remembered correctly, there was a masseuse living in that town." Mater nodded. Rafael grinned, "And a bath lake?" Mater nodded again. "We'll also get another Kro. Our supplies won't last us halfway."

The cat girl rubbed her wrists together, trying to get the binds off of her. Ryu turned his head and smiled at her, which made her blush although it wasn't visible under her fur. "We'll get you some proper medical aid."

When Mater got on his Kro, everyone resumed walking towards the town.

* * *

"She's a young one, isn't she?" The doctor, who Ryu identified came from a different dog race than that of Mater, spoke to him in his deep, gruff voice. The cat, of course, hissed under his touch. The doctor smiled, "Don't be afraid of me, young one. I've given up chasing felines." 

The doctor finished bandaging her and left the two together. Ryu smiled, "Do you feel better?" The cat didn't answer. He scratched the back of his head, "Well, I think you know already but my name is Ryu." There was a long, awkward silence. "Are you hungry?"

The cat growled but stopped when her stomach growled even louder as if to answer Ryu honestly. She pulled her legs together to her stomach, trying to stop it from making sounds but it made the sounds even louder. Ryu nodded, "It's agreed then, we'll go grab something to eat."

Ryu stood up, "Are you going to follow me?" The cat girl looked away but she stood up and stilled behind him. Ryu's smile grew wider, "We'll go to where Mater is!"

They went out of the little clinic and Ryu thanked the doctor who told him not to worry about it. They passed many small buildings and people of different races. Some were cats like the girl who was following him but they don't acknowledge her. Ryu saw her stare at the ground as they passed her without even a single look. They reached the small restaurant and found Mater in the middle with Rafael who was clean from the grime that was on him just a few hours ago.

"Ryu!" Mater called out and Rafael looked at his son and the cat woman. "We ordered you some food."

Ryu sat down and the cat girl stood beside him, "You could sit down." Her standing beside him while he was sitting down made him feel like as if she was a slave of some sort. The girl took a chair that was between him and Rafael; pulled the furniture next to Ryu and sat close enough for their arms to touch.

"The cat seems to have taken a liking to you, Ryu." Mater spoke softly.

"I'm not a cat." She mumbled. It was the first time she said a full sentence. Even if it was short, it was still a full sentence. "I'm a Fullen."

To Rafael and Ryu, a Fullen was just another word for cat race but Mater dropped his fork. "A Fullen? I thought they've been..."

"We still exist." The Fullen girl raised her green eyes to stare at Mater's red ones. "It is true, our Elders were taken down, our villages burnt to the ground and most of my race has been wiped out but some of us survived the attack."

Ryu looked at Mater and the Fullen before looking at Rafael for answers but he only received a shake of his head. Ryu looked at the girl, "What happened?"

"The Protectors killed my people." As she mentioned the Protectors, Ryu and Rafael tensed. "All because they were searching for a Brood. They kept on asking us where she was but we didn't know. Of course we didn't know. We have no reason to protect anyone from outside our race but—" The Fullen girl suddenly stopped.

Mater was now interested in the story but he saw Rafael trying to get his attention by looking at him. He shook his head and Mater's shoulders slouched in disappointment. They continued to eat their meal in silence with the occasional conversation between the three males. The girl stayed quiet.

* * *

As soon as the sun lowered into the horizon the party geared up and fed their Kroes before heading off. They sold their old Kroes that carried their supplies and bought three new ones. Two Kroes were to carry supplies and another for the Fullen. 

"Are we all ready?" Rafael asked everyone. Mater nodded and Ryu too. He held both his and the girl's reins. The Fullen stared at his hand. "How about you, Fullen girl?"

The girl looked up to look at him. Ever since her capture, these men had done nothing but showed her kindness. There was a soft purr coming from her as she thought about the short moment with them. She spoke to him, "My name is not Fullen girl." She looked away and spoke after a short cough to clear her throat, "My name is Katt."

"Just like cat." Mater said under his breath with a chuckle for which he received a scowl from her. "I'll go ahead." He volunteered as he sped off.

"That dog needs to be nicer to her." Rafael said to himself. He clucked to his Kro and it let out a short shriek before moving. Ryu dug his heels softly and his Kro pulled Katt's to move with him.

As they journeyed into the night, darkness fell and it would have been hard for them to travel without light. But Kroes were able to send out high frequency sound waves like that of bats. The only problem with this is that unlike the winged Hunter creatures which uses these sound waves to catch their preys, Kroes's high frequency sounds tend to attract other creatures since they were originally Fighter creatures.

Katt saw a few figures running around in the distance and she was uncomfortable with all of it. "We have enemies around us." She said to Ryu.

Ryu nodded. He knew they weren't alone. He also knew that Rafael and Mater knew this as well but they continued to push forward. He whispered to her in a soft voice, "If any of them attack us, we'll counter."

"It's easy for you to say." She hissed under her breath, "You could defend yourself." Her arms weren't bound by the wrists like before but the ointment and medicine that the doctor gave numbed a few of her muscles; weakened her strength.

"We'll protect you." He said to her. He sounded confident and Katt somehow felt relieved. She didn't know why she trusted him so much but she did.

That night they did fight a few battles, as well as the next few days they traveled. On the fifth day since Katt's capture, she had finally healed. They didn't bind her neither did they treat her badly. There were moments when she knew she could easily escape from them but something held her back. The young, blue haired man had caught her interest and she was curious to know more about him.

That fifth night, they reached a spot that Mater found was a good place to stop. "We've reached the boundary now." Mater told them when they finally caught up to him. "A day's ride from here we'll pass through the desert. If we go the right way, we'll be out of the desert in three days. We'll let the Kroes rest on the second day." The Kroes were tied to the trees and brushed down while Ryu fed them. Katt watched the men take care of their mounts and then looked away when Rafael looked at her.

He walked over to the Fullen and sat down next to her making sure he was about an arm length away. "Would you like something to eat?" He gave her a small wrapped item and she took it from him. As usual, it was another dry beef jerky. When they all sat down, Ryu had built them a fire to keep warm. Mater continued to watch and listen to their surroundings to lower their chances of an ambush.

"You told us that the Protectors were searching for a Brood." Ryu spoke up and the crackling fire was the only sound audible. Katt took a while to nod. "Do you know what Brood they were talking about?" He knew she said they weren't hiding a Brood but he had to know if she knew who the Brood was. She mentioned it was a female before.

Katt chewed the thick meat. Her lips were tightly sealed. When Ryu was about to tell her to forget about it she spoke. "All I could remember from my grandmother's story were 'Brood' and 'Wildflower'."

"Wildflower?" Ryu and Rafael questioned. They've never heard of the name but at the mention of it, Mater let out a small bark of excitement.

"The Legendary Wildflower?" He quickly walked over to the fire, leaving his post unwatched. "Isn't she also known as Silver Tail?" As he said this, Rafael's eyes widened. "It was just a rumor but I've heard from legends that the Silver Tail, who was known as Wildflower from the shape of the tip of her tail, carried the child of a God."

"Silver Tail..." Rafael frowned. "Gwen."

"Grandmother?" Ryu spoke not realizing that he received a curious stare from Mater and a surprised look from Katt. "She disappeared a long time ago." He shook his head.

"Grandmother?!" The realization suddenly sunk in and Katt jumped up with her claws out. "You're a Brood! It's because of you my race was—! My family!!!"

With a quick swipe of her claws Katt had blinded one of Ryu's eyes. Mater quickly pulled out a vial and forced Katt to drink it. She slumped back into his arms and fell asleep. Rafael stared at his son but he didn't move to help him. After putting Katt down, Mater helped Ryu.

"We'll continue to the labyrinth as soon as we're able." Rafael spoke and no one said a word.

* * *

**Author's Blurb:**

Yayness!! **Chapter 9** up!

_GuyverZero_: Thankees for your comment!  
_Anime Monkey_: Enthusiastic reader.. ;o; THANKEES!!!  
_Sigbru_: It's about time I made sense to the title. Hahha!! Thankees for the encouragement! It means a lot to me: D

I wanna thank the people who have read and commented! You do not (or may...) know how much that means to me! I felt so happy reading the reviews/comments when I opened up my e-mail! When I saw the alerts and read them, it literally made me cry! I had tears of joy that threatened to jump out of my eyes!! Because of my overwhelming happiness, I wrote the next chapter right after I read them. Yes, I was that happy : D

I hope you guys enjoyed this one as much as the rest! I might add more pages after **Chapter 10** but I'm not promising anything! Peace out to the readers!!

**Sidenote**: If there are any grammatical error, I apologize. -w-;; Oh! And if someone wants me to read their stories, please tell me. I don't have time to check out stories by myself so if you refer your stories, I'll slide my essays to the side to take some time to read. :3

Over and Out!


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Anna grumbled as old man Midaqq examined Nina's staff. She hadn't been to Salara for a long time now and she didn't want to meet up with the blacksmith but since Nina asked her to she had no choice. Not only did she not like the man, she disliked his rules about not letting anyone else except for the people he worked for. That meant she was alone with him, her soldiers and guards outside.

He cleared his throat and caught Anna's attention. She looked over at him and he gave her a huge grin, which made Anna furrow her eyebrows as she frowned. "It seems she has done a good job using her staff. The weapon itself is in great condition," He raised it high above his head and pulled down a light to shine into the orb that was located at the tip. "But the crystal has worn out. Not enough power if she casts a spell."

Anna watched him walk over to the worktable where he pushed tools off, letting them drop heavily to the floor. "I'm too old to care for those things." Midaqq referred to the new tools that he had just shoved, "The only things I care for are the weapons and my old-fashioned tools." He pulled out a gigantic box from under the table. When he opened the lid, Anna could see that the tool he pulled out was ancient and dull in color.

He mumbled a few words, which Anna recognized as a chant, and swung the object in his hand down to the crystal orb; shattering it into small pieces. Quickly, the shards dissolved into what seemed to be grains of sand before turning into nothing more than dust.

Anna knew what these crystals were. Live chrysms. They've been caged into crystal orbs by people who gave them up to aid others against evil. Of course, these crystal orbs caged souls with good intent. She watched as he carefully unlocked a metal safe. She heard dozens of clicks as his fingers raced through a keypad. Then the final clunk before he opened the door. Inside, she could see crystal orbs of different sizes and colors. He picked several and examined them until he found the one he wanted.

Midaqq closed the door and it automatically locked itself. Anna listened to the clicks as he walked back to the table. His hands, although old and shaking, deftly replaced the orb on the staff. He chanted again but this time a different tune with different words that Anna had never heard before. She watched the orb glow as a high pitch sound filled the air. It didn't hurt her ears. It was more like the sound of whistling where you slide your fingertips on the rim of a glass. The sound stopped and the old man smiled. He wrapped Nina's staff with a harsh textured cloth and tied it with a rope. "It's done."

"Yes, I can see that." Anna murmured. Midaqq laughed and Anna looked away.

"Are you still angry about the doll?" Anna blushed out of embarrassment. He gave her a fatherly smile, "But it has helped you, has it not?" Anna refused to answer to his question and she pulled out her hand; asking him silently to return the weapon.

He placed it gently on the palms of her hands as his face slowly turned serious. "You will need it even more soon, your Highness." He told her. She pulled the weapon to her chest and nodded. He gave her a small smile. "I hope you have a safe journey home."

Anna turned and left the blacksmith's building. The soldiers and guards rushed over to her Kro, assisting her as she mounted the creature. A soldier stood next to her; waiting for her to hand the weapon to him but she shook her head.

As they started the journey home as the sky brightened, Anna thought of what he had just said. It was true. She needed that doll more now than ever.

* * *

Katt opened her eyes and found her hands bound once more behind her. When she threw a glare to her side, instead of seeing Ryu, it was Mater holding her reins. She didn't say a word to him and looked ahead, searching for the Brood. All she saw were the Kroes that carried their supplies between them and Rafael. Ryu was nowhere in sight. She twisted her waist so her upper body would turn to look behind them but he wasn't there either. 'Did I kill him?' Katt thought the question. For some reason it caused a heavy feeling of regret. 

"You finally woke up, huh?" She heard Mater's voice. She looked at him but he was staring straight ahead. Suddenly, she realized she was feeling hot. She looked at herself and saw that she was covered in thick rags from head to toe like the others. "We're crossing the dessert now. If you feel thirsty, please tell me, I'll give you some water to drink."

"Where's the Brood?" She asked him. Mater could hear her voice trembling but when he looked at her he couldn't decipher whether it was from concern, fear or from anger. "Is he dead?"

Mater smirked under the rag scarf he had across his face, "All you did was hurt him. Death doesn't come easy to a Brood." He dug his heels twice into his Kro making it trot faster, "He's scouting ahead of us. There should be an oasis around here somewhere."

Katt looked ahead and saw Rafael's body wave around like ripples on water as the heat rose from the desert sand. She saw him raise his hand and Mater stopped their Kroes. "Enemy. It's another group of Sand Scorpions."

Katt had never been through the desert but she knew Sand Scorpions can grow up to the length of an adult human being while their tails were even longer, containing lethal poison. Slowly, she saw the figures of their enemies solidifying from the heat waves. The Sand Scorpions tittered as they conversed amongst each other, passing by them as if they were nothing more than rocks.

Once they passed by them, Katt breathed out a sigh of relief. She looked back at the Sand Scorpions. Why hadn't they attacked them? Mater knew what she was thinking as he clucked his tongue to get their Kroes to start moving again, "We've been traveling non-stop for a day and a half. Rafael cast a warding spell on us. Don't expect it to work all the time though." He warned her. The Fullen looked at Rafael who continued to ride in front of them.

"Katt." Mater called out to her. She snapped out of her thoughts and looked at him, "He may have been a Brood but it wasn't his fault that your race was wiped— almost wiped out." He corrected himself hoping to prevent a feud. Of course, in some parts of the continent, bloody feuds between the Dog Race and Cat Race were thriving.

Katt didn't say a word. She knew he was right but she had already broken the trust between Ryu and she. She closed her eyes and fell asleep once more.

* * *

The sun passed noon and Nina heard a commotion outside the castle. She got off the chair and looked out of the window where she saw her sister nodding at her people. Nina grinned and stretched her arms above her head, "No more paperwork for me!" Then she saw the object in Anna's arms and smiled. "Can't wait." She turned and walked out of the room, leaving the advisor to continue working. 

When she reached the landing, she saw Anna talking to one of the maids. Her sister realized someone was looking at her and when she raised her head she gave Nina a smile. "I'm home."

Nina fluttered her wings in excitement, "How was the meeting?" She asked as she walked over to her sister. Anna handed the wrapped weapon to her and just sighed. "It didn't go well?" Nina was concerned.

"It went well, don't worry." She replied. She didn't know whether to tell Nina about the offer from King Ajmad but she thought nothing more of it and continued to smile. "Salara was still the same. More people now though. Did I receive a letter from the Mayor of Salara for a town expansion? When I was there, the Mayor was out of town. A conference with a neighboring town, I guess. His people greeted me well though."

Nina wasn't listening as she followed her sister up the stairs while trying to untie the little package Anna gave her. When she finally did open it; a little squeal of joy escaped her lips, which in turn made Anna realize her sister wasn't paying attention to her. She walked into her office where the advisor stood and bowed to her.

"Most of the paperwork is done, my Queen. They only need your acceptance and mark." He placed the paperwork on her table when she seated herself behind the huge desk. "I've placed those with priority at the top, your Highness." Anna nodded and he left them alone.

She picked the first one off the pile and read through. It was from the Elder of a small village a few towns away asking for a road leading to them. There were more letters of the same nature and she signed some of them while leaving some without her mark, which later an advisor would return a letter saying their rejection in a gentle way.

"It feels different." Anna raised her head when she saw Nina twirling the staff in her hands like as if it weighed nothing. "It feels lighter, much powerful... as if I could feel it connecting with me."

"The chrysm?" Anna spoke as she leaned her back on the huge chair, her wings spread to the sides making her look somewhat intimidating. "He changed your crystal orb."

"Yes, I noticed." Nina said. "But... it feels like I know this chrysm." Suddenly she felt like crying.

Anna was confused at this but slowly her eyes widened. She hid it behind a concerned smile, "Why don't you go and train with it? Maybe that will make you feel better." Nina nodded and left. Anna waited a few minutes after the doors closed before she cursed, politely, under her breath.

"Old man..." She said referring to Midaqq. "One of these days your magic will turn against you." She only realized what the chant he did was. A call for souls that have left the realm to return. What surprised her was the smooth transition. She looked up at the ceiling and shut her eyes out of exhaustion. She released a sigh.

"Who told you to use her mother?"

* * *

**Author's Blurb**: 

I got carried away with my excitement... and I made another chapter. I actually put this in my "Document" a few hours back but I wasn't sure whether to update it so soon. I thought this because I know how some people don't like their inbox (when the subscribe or watch/alert/etc etc) to be filled by "Story Alerts". -w-;

But I can't contain my excitement! (Yesh, I realized I said this before. I tend to repeat myself when I'm excited.) So I abused this joy by expressing it through a new chapter update! I won't be updating tomorrow (today for me, it's 10 mins to 1AM) so don't worry about your e-mails being spammed by my "Story Alerts" (if you've placed an alert on me -w- )

Bashi! Over and Out!

Oooh! Ooh!! Oooh!!!eleven11!one!  
...  
(Damn... I forgot what I was going to say...) -w-;  
(and that's the truth...) -w-;;;;;;;  
(what DID I want to say?) O w O;;;;


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

When Katt woke up, it was already nightfall. A shallow pit contained their small fire and above the ember flames were their meal. Rafael sat opposite of her and they were alone. Mater seemed to be guarding an area somewhere. Katt hadn't seen Ryu since she attacked him and slowly, her drowsiness faded; turning into regret.

"Are you hungry? You haven't eaten or drunken anything since Mater made you drink his potion." Rafael asked her in a soft voice. She looked at his hands where she saw him stripping layers of wood. It looked to her that he was carving it into something. "If you are, the meat is almost done."

"Where are we now?" Katt looked at her surrounding. She could see that they were still in the desert. She looked up at the sky and saw millions of stars blanketing the dark sky. There was one that shone brightly to the left of her sight and it caught her full attention until Rafael spoke.

"We're still in the Southern part of the continent." He told her before he blew on the little block of carved wood in his hand. He checked the meat and then continued carving, "We're heading towards the North." Katt could see the human shape he was making now. It was so small and yet, his hands skillfully made grooves into it, cutting deep for a stronger definition while intricate designs were made out of light scratches on the surface.

Rafael raised his head and looked just a little to her left. "Did you find the oasis?"

"No." Katt's ears perked up and she turned to see Ryu walking towards them. There was a bandage wrapped diagonally on his head, covering his left eye. He saw that Katt was awake and looked at her. He grinned. Katt bared her fangs and Ryu gave her a concerned smile. He walked over to his father's side so that he wouldn't bother the girl. Her hissing faded and she looked at her feet. She wanted to scratch her back but the way her wrists were bound, it was impossible.

Mater came back with a huge container filled with liquid. "I didn't find an oasis but there was a field of giant cacti. The water is bitter but it will help quench the thirst."

"What happened to our water supply?" Katt asked Mater in surprise. When they left the previous town she remembered they had enough to last them at least a week's ride.

"The Kroes needed it more than us." Mater answered. He looked at Ryu and frowned, "I need to redress your wound, Ryu." Ryu lifted his head and then nodded. Ryu walked over to him and Mater pulled out an aid kit from one of the Kroes bags. Mater stood in front of Ryu's face so when Katt wanted to see the damage she had done he blocked her view.

"The meat is done." Rafael said. Everyone's attention was now at him as he pulled the meat away from the fire and sliced even portions. They didn't have any plates and only had a small pot, which they used to heat water. Mater finished dressing Ryu's wound and took out pieces of leather from a bag for them to use as dishes. Mater handed Katt her meal but he had forgotten her hands were tied.

"Sorry." He apologized. He sat next to her and cut the meat in little pieces before poking one with a blunt knife. He lifted the meat up to Katt's lips. "We can't untie you but you've got to eat if you want to survive this trip."

"Why can't you just let me go?" Katt asked him under her breath. It was true. They had no need for her. They could have left her in the previous town and Ryu would still have had his eye intact.

"We'll let you go as soon as we cross the desert." Rafael said to her, chewing his food after he finished speaking. Even when he was using his fingers to pick his food up to eat he looked refined.

Ryu had eaten half of his food when he heard something. He slowly placed his leather plate next to him and wiped his hands on his trousers before quietly calling out his boomerang. Rafael saw this and did the same as quietly as Ryu had done. "I think something's coming." Ryu told his father. Rafael nodded when he, too, felt a presence.

Mater put down the food and pulled vials out of his pockets. Just as he stood up, Mater was knocked out cold.

* * *

Nina swung the staff as she cast her spell. Her magic had grown tremendously in power. She seemed happy about this as Anna noted. "Maybe the old man was right to call her mother back." Anna said as she held the doll in her hand. Small in size; the doll was made out of wood and metal. It looked somewhat like a warrior princess wearing a beautiful armor and had small wings that protruded out of its back. She heard her name being called out and when she raised her head Nina was already walking over to her. Anna got up from her seat and walked over to her sister.

"How come you're out here, Anna?" Nina asked her, pushing away strands of blonde hair away from her forehead. She gave her a wide grin, "Shouldn't you be buried under piles of paper?"

"I crawled my way out." She retorted. Nina smiled at this. "I just came down to ask you to accompany me to the Kingdom of Astin O'el."

"Accompany?" Nina looked at her weirdly, "Sounds very formal."

"Because this is formal." Anna said.

"You weren't formal when you were being sarcastic." Nina teased. She quickly shook her head and stood with he back straight before she gave her sister a deep bow, teasing her even more, "Of course, Highness. Whatever the Majesty wants."

Anna sighed and gave her a smile. "We'll leave in two days so pack up for a long ride." Anna told her. She turned and disappeared through a set of doors.

Nina slowly released her pose and leaned her hip against a waist high wall with her arms crossed under her chest. She wondered what her sister was going to do there and why she wanted to bring her along. She lowered her gaze and wondered how the others were doing. If she remembered her Geography, they'd probably have passed the desert by now. "And ahead of them is a bigger desert." She whispered.

"Princess Nina, the training field is ready for you." One of the soldiers said to her.

She nodded and relaxed her muscles before she clenched her fist and let out a simple huff of air, "Well, time to train!"

* * *

Ryu swiped a few more Desert Eagles before his blindness put him in a disadvantage. He was slammed down as golden talons wrapped easily around his body. Before the Desert Eagle could do anything to him though, Rafael's Master Kro dashed towards the giant bird and attacked it ferociously with its beak. The eagle let out a high-pitched cry and more Desert Eagles arrived.

Rafael was doing his best to defend himself. His swings were powerful, that was for sure, but days leaving his sword alone became his regret. He let out a low whistle and the Master Kro shrieked. The Kroes with the supplies came running towards it and with their powerful beaks and claws, they're aggressive nature suddenly became apparent. Rafael continued to hack away at the birds and saw from the corner of his eye Ryu getting up.

Mater quietly woke up and just as his eyes opened, he dodged a vicious attack from a giant talon. The Desert Eagle stared down at Mater and the Dog man growled before rolling away. He had dropped most of his vials when he was knocked down and he only had two that would really do damage to winged creatures. Suddenly he remembered about Katt. He looked around but he couldn't see her anywhere. He evaded more attacks from the Desert Eagle that seemed to target him at the moment and almost lost his arm if he hadn't kicked sand into the Eagle's eyes. It seemed to temporarily paralyze the creature. Mater turned to the others, "Sand in their eyes!" He shouted to them repeatedly.

Ryu heard it first and plunged his boomerang into the sand to his side. With a strong scoop, he pulled it out and swiped it upwards, diagonally spraying the soft grains into the eyes of the birds. The creatures stopped in their tracks as if they were sculptures doing dynamic poses. The temporary paralysis gave enough time for Ryu to put two down.

Rafael hasn't heard Mater. He was too far away. The Desert Eagles that he was fighting with managed to strike his sword away. Now unarmed, Rafael lifted his fists. He wasn't too great fighting without weapons but he had to do something.

Just before any of them, Rafael and his opponents, made a move; one of the Desert Eagle's head dropped to the ground. From behind the fallen head, a figure somersaulted in mid-air and dropped next to the former King of Wyndia. He thought it was an armless creature that suddenly wanted to aid him in his battle but he found that it was Katt.

"If you cut my binds I'll be able to fight them." She gritted her teeth as she said this. Rafael saw the outcome of her just using her legs to kill one of the Desert Eagles. If he slipped the binds off, she'd be able to use her hands as well. Rafael quickly loosened the ropes and before he could fully untie it, she had pulled her hands away.

Katt's strong legs seemed to leap as she ran and she sprung from beneath one of the Desert Eagle. Her heel clashed against the bird's beak, breaking its jaw; leaving its neck unprotected. The Cat girl curved her back and grabbed the eagle's neck, bringing her knee into its chest. The Desert Eagle let out a harsh squawk. It crumbled to the ground unconscious; its talons and wings twitching.

The Desert Eagles were now eyeing the Fullen girl. They flew over to her in a pack; they had lost interest with the others. Mater got up and raised the two crucial vials behind him. "Run, Katt!" He released the vials towards the Desert Eagles with deadly accuracy. Katt hadn't heard him but Ryu did and he rushed towards her and his father.

"Rafael!" Ryu yelled as he dashed towards them. The King understood and ran away from the birds. Katt saw Ryu but didn't expect him to grab her around the waist and swing her on his shoulder. The quick motion took her breath away as her stomach hit him. Katt was about to scratch him in protest but they were blown away by the explosions before she could even mewl.

They both dropped to the ground, Katt below Ryu as he covered her from the heat and the splattering of bloody flesh, burnt and fresh. A huge chunk of meat dropped next to Katt's face and she looked as the sand absorbed the blood. There was a long moment where nothing moved except for the few flames that scattered in the area.

Then they heard Mater shout to them, "Is everybody alright?" Ryu breathed heavily and pinned Katt down. The Fullen girl squirmed and shoved him off only to see that he had fallen unconscious.

Before anyone could reach them Katt stared at Ryu's face. Suddenly her face warmed. "Why did you that?" She whispered her question to the Brood but there was no answer. She kicked him gently at the hip, "Are you really out of it?" She kicked him a couple of times before moving her face close to his. She closed her eyes and moved her lips next to his ear, "Thank you."

* * *

"I'm a Wyndian Magus, alright? I'm a warrior!" Nina burst into her sister's room while Anna was dressing. Anna didn't react to the outburst and continued to gown herself. When she was done, she took a seat in front of her mirror and the maids started to brush her wings as she combed her hair. Nina slammed a piece of paper on the table, "I'm not a prize!"

Anna stared at the piece of paper but continued to untangle her hair as she spoke, "Yes, you're not a prize. I'm not giving you away to the King of Astin O'el just because I want to." She put the comb down and picked up a huge brush. Her hair felt soft under her fingertips. "But I need you to train under him. If you must remember, your spell casting of Earth, Fire and Water magic aren't very impressive."

This was the first time Anna had treated her like a younger sister. Nina stepped back, "Well, I'm not going! I don't want to be sent to a place I've never even heard of just to learn magic that I could easily learn here."

"But that's the thing, Nina." Anna placed the brush back in its proper place and pulled a small tub out of her drawer. She scooped out a bit of dark viscous substance and slid it from the roots of her hair to the tips. The maids placed the brushes back where they were and pulled out objects that looked like curlers, rolling them on the hair that Anna had already applied the substance to. "You can't learn easily here. How long have you tried to learn how to fly and have yet to even float?"

Nina's face reddened in both anger and embarrassment. Anna should have said that after the maids have left. "Anna, you're really making me mad."

Anna shot her a furious look, which made Nina step back a little bit more. She didn't know what was happening to her sister but there was something there that wasn't Anna. "Look, Nina, I'm only doing this for your own good. Once you've learned Earth magic from the Kingdom of Astin O'el, you'll head over to the Kingdom of Isopro for Fire magic."

"I don't want to—!"

"Then you'll go to the Kingdom of Rhigarngd." Anna interrupted her.

Nina gritted her teeth. Questions run through her head. What was wrong with her sister? What did she do to make her punish? Nina straightened her back and bowed her head. She swung her arms wide and clasped her hands together as she placed her thumbs to the bridge of her nose in silence. Nina turned and left Anna.

The Queen jerked her head to the door and the maids left her alone. Slowly, she pulled her doll out of the drawer. "It won't be long now."

* * *

In a few more hours, Ryu and the others would be reaching the boundary of the desert. They were now traveling at night since the gang slept during the day to recover from last night's battle.

Ryu, of course, was ahead of everyone. He didn't remember what happened after the explosions and he didn't remember what happened to his eye. For some reason, many of his memories were disappearing. He heard someone come up from behind him quite noisily. Rafael's Kro strode majestically right beside his.

"How are you feeling, Ryu?" Rafael asked him. He sensed the weakened state his son was in.

Ryu was quiet for a bit and decided to tell him. "I can't remember things that happened to me recently. I could remember people and faces, names, smell and taste but... not recent events." Ryu continued to hold onto his reins even when the Kro was swinging its head from side to side in an attempt to avoid the Sand Flies that were flying around its eyes. "I don't even remember what happened to my eye."

Rafael smiled, "You're growing."

"Hm?" Ryu looked at his father.

"Let me take a guess." Rafel said to him in a childish way. "You're turning nine decades soon." Ryu widened his eyes for a few seconds and then lokoed straight ahead. "It's a part of a cycle. Your memories, everything you've learned and experienced will temporarily be... unaccessible."

"Why is that?" Ryu asked his father. He clucked his tongue when his Kro strayed towards the wrong direction. "Wouldn't that mean... I'm vulnerable?" He was concerned.

"It's best if you go through the change in Dragon form." His father advised him. Just as Rafael said that Ryu heard something. There was a soft melody that his ears picked up.

"Do you hear that?" Ryu asked Rafael. His father lifted his head a little bit and nodded. "It's beckoning me." Rafael saw Ryu cluck the Kro to a direction that was off their path but he did not stop him. Mater whistled to tell him that Ryu was straying but Rafael raised his arm to tell him it was alright. They continued on while Ryu headed off by his lonesome. Katt watched him. Her ears twitched but she didn't know why. She shrug her shoulders and looked ahead but she couldn't stop thinking about Ryu. Her face warmed and Mater looked over to her.

"Would you like a drink of water?" He asked her. Katt was too deep in her thoughts that she didn't hear him. He looked away and they continued to ride out of the sandy place.

* * *

Author's Blurb:

I wanna thank all those who have encouraged me to write. I wrote this story a long time ago. I just forgot to bring my USB that connects to my external harddrive (right now, I'm using a USB wire that my bro "re-wired" )

I hope you all enjoyed this one. Hehhe!! Five pages long.

Bashi OVER AND OUT!


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